Tag: Thermostat

RoHS, EXAIR, And You

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The 20th century was an amazing time for technological advances. In just 70 years, the science & engineering communities went from believing that powered flight was impossible, to actually powering a flight that took three astronauts all the way to the Moon…and back. In the 50 years or so since then, the computers with the power required for space travel went from needing a whole room, to being able to fit on our desks, and eventually, our pockets.

All three of these: a state of the art computer from 1962 (left), the desktop computer I’m writing this blog on (middle), and a smart phone being used for its most popular function (right) all have about the same amount of computing power, believe it or not. (full disclosure: I believe it because I used my smart phone to look that up on the internet)

Along with these amazing advances in technology came exponential increases in the materials it takes to make devices like desktop (or laptop) computers and smart phones…and some of those materials don’t get along well at all with the environment, and by extension, those of us who live in said environment. This doesn’t normally matter as long as those materials are housed inside an operating computer or cell phone (or myriad other electronic devices), but it DOES become a concern when they’re disposed of. When stuff like that ends up in landfills, for instance, it has a bad habit of making its way into the water table…and that’s not good for anyone.

In 2002, the European Union (EU) started pursuing legislation to restrict the use of certain hazardous substances, to get out ahead of disposal issues by keeping them out of products from the very beginning. This led to the creation & implementation of the RoHS Directive. It’s been revised, amended, and updated over the years, because it turns out there are no viable substitutes for SOME of those substances in SOME situations. Among these exceptions:

  • Mercury is used extensively in a number of energy efficient CFL light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, so there are exemptions for that, and it works because there’s a whole industry devoted to the proper recycling of these products.
  • My personal favorite is the specific exclusion for lead in the manufacture of pipe organs. Seems that the lead based alloy that’s been used for centuries is critical to the tonal qualities of the sound that the pipes produce. Since disposal rates of these are negligible (the use of this alloy is one of the reasons they LAST for centuries), pipe organ pipes don’t have to be RoHS compliant.

Compliance with the RoHS Directive is so important to EXAIR, it’s part of our Sustainability Plan. All of our products that are subject to the Directive have certificates of compliance (available upon request) that document their compliance. Per the specifics of the Directive, these are comprised of certain products in our Optimization, Static Eliminators, and Cabinet Cooler System product lines:

  • Optimization:
    • EFC Electronic Flow Control Systems
    • Digital Flowmeters
    • Digital Sound Level Meters
    • Ultrasonic Leak Detectors
  • Static Eliminators:
    • Super Ion Air Knives
    • Standard Ion Air Knives
    • Ionizing Bars
    • Super Ion Air Wipes
    • Ion Air Cannons
    • Ion Air Guns
    • Ion Air Jets
    • Power Supplies
    • Intellistat Ion Air Guns
    • Intellistat Ion Air Nozzles
    • Static Meters
  • Cabinet Cooler System products:
    • Electronic Temperature Control Systems
    • Thermostats & Capacitors
    • Solenoid Valves

These are all of our products that are electrical or electronic in nature. Our broad line of engineered compressed air products are not subject to the Directive, as they have no electrical or electronic components. We DO make sure these comply with other regulatory directives, as applicable, such as:

  • Conflict Mineral Free: All compressed air products
  • CE: All products
  • UL: Static Eliminators and Cabinet Cooler Systems are UL Listed, HazLoc Cabinet Cooler Systems are UL Classified
  • ATEX: These are a brand new line (as of this writing) of Cabinet Cooler products

If you’d like to find out more about EXAIR’s commitment to compliance with any of these standards or directives, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Hazardous Location Cabinet Cooler Systems “Make Things Better”

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

In a previous arc in my career path, I worked on, and then built, and then sold industrial pumps, so I’ve been in my fair share of chemical plants. Did you ever wonder what all these places make? A decent number of them make what are called “intermediates”. These are compounds, solutions, & substances that aren’t found in stores, but go into almost all of the goods that ARE found in stores. One such company used to make commercials that explained it nicely:

I recently had the pleasure of assisting a caller from a company like this, who wanted to install three of our Hazardous Location Cabinet Cooler Systems in their facility. This particular company doesn’t make anything shown in the commercial above; they make intermediates for agricultural use (to paraphrase the commercial, “they don’t make fertilizer; they make fertilizer better”). As is the case in MANY chemical plants, a good portion of their real estate is classified as hazardous area (as defined by regulatory oversight agencies) AND subject to exposure to some fairly corrosive chemicals. Now, these places all go to great lengths to ensure safety for personnel AND equipment, through compliance AND design. So, when they needed to add durable & reliable heat protection to their electrical panels, they called EXAIR.

This was a pretty easy application, as the engineer I spoke to had gotten the internal heat loads from the equipment supplier, and already knew that 316SS construction was needed for the corrosive elements the equipment could be exposed to. The panel was in a Class I Div 2 area (flammable gasses or vapors may be present in the event of an accident or during unusual operating conditions). After calculating the external heat load, we specified a Model HZ4725SS-316 NEMA 4X (316SS Construction) Hazardous Location Cabinet Cooler System, rated for 1,700 Btu/hr, and Model 902021 24VDC HazLoc Solenoid Valve. These panels came equipped with temperature monitors that they could wire our valves into, otherwise we’d have supplied Thermostat Controlled systems.

EXAIR HazLoc Cabinet Cooler Systems are rated for Class I Div 1 & 2, Class II Div 1 & 2, and Class III environments.

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems are available, from stock, to suit most any electric/electronic panel heat protection need:

  • Cooling capacities from 275 to 5,600 Btu/hr. Call me if your heat load is outside this range…we can look at customized solutions too.
  • NEMA 12 (IP54), 4, or 4X (IP66) ratings.
  • Thermostat Control – Standard, or Electronic Temperature Control.
  • Non-Hazardous Purge for contaminant exclusion on less-than-ideally sealed enclosures.
  • High Temperature models for ambient temperatures from 125°F (52°C) to 200°F (93°C).
  • Side Mount Kits when space is limited above the panel.
  • 316SS construction for particularly aggressive environments.
  • UL Classified for hazardous locations, just like the one I wrote about above.

If you’d like to find out how easy it is to provide durable and reliable heat protection for your electrical panels, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Let Solenoid Valves and Ball Valves save you Money!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Step 4 of the Six Steps to Optimizing your compressed air is to turn off your compressed air when it is not in use. This step can be done using two simple methods either by using manual controls such as ball valves or automated controllers such as solenoid valves. Manual controls are designed for long use and when switching on and off are infrequent. Ball Valves are one of the most commonly used manual shut offs for compressed air and other fluids.

  • Manual Valves allow for operators to turn on and off their system by hand. The full-flow ball valves range from ¼” NPT to 1 1/4” NPT in size and will not restrict flow.  EXAIR also offers a manual foot pedal valve for hands-free operations.  This ¼” NPT foot valve has a 3-way operation and works great if the operator has to use both hands in their process.
  • Solenoid Valves are a way to turn on and off the supply of compressed air electrically for automated systems. We offer solenoids in three different voltages; 110Vac, 240Vac, and 24Vdc.  EXAIR has a large range of flows with ports ranging from ¼” NPT to 1” NPT.  All models are UL listed and are CE and RoHS compliant.
Top Left: Solenoid Valve , Bottom: Manual Foot Valve , Right: Manual ball valve

By turning off your compressed air, whether it be with manual or automated controllers, a company can minimize wasted compressed air and extend the longevity of the air compressor that is used to supply the plants air. The longevity of the air compressor is increased due to reduced run time since it does not need to keep up with the constant use of compressed air. Other benefits include less use of compressed air and recouped cost of compressed air. 

EXAIR’s Ball Valves sizes 1/4″ NPT to 1-1/4″ NPT

If you have any questions on how these easy to install accessories can help save you money give us a call! One of our application engineers will be happy to assist!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Non Hazardous Purge Cabinet Cooler Systems

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Last fall, when our youngest “flew the coop” and moved into a dormitory to begin his college experience, my lovely bride and I also embarked upon an exciting adventure: finding, purchasing, and moving in to our “empty nest” dream house.  While packing up the contents of the house where we had raised a United States Marine AND a hippie college student, I moved my trusty laptop from its perch on a desk in a dark basement corner, where it had resided, in that one spot, for more than a couple years.

As I was looking for its carrying case, I noticed the fan grill was almost completely obscured with more than a couple years’ worth of environmental contamination (or dust).  I vacuumed out the grill, but wondered how much more environmental contamination (dust) had made its way into the deep recesses of the laptop…and more importantly, what might it be doing to the sensitive electronics inside my trusty internet browsing device?

If a computer’s fan in a residential environment can get this dusty, imagine how much worse a control panel on a factory floor can get.

I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but electronics and dust don’t mix.  We have this conversation a LOT with callers inquiring about our Cabinet Cooler Systems.  The protection they offer against environmental contamination is integral with the protection they offer against heat.  In the panel cooling market, our Cabinet Cooler Systems are unique in that respect: a total protection solution.

When properly installed on a sealed enclosure, the only thing the inside of that enclosure is ever exposed to is cold, clean, moisture free air.  But what if the enclosure can’t be completely sealed?  One option is to use a Continuous Operation Cabinet Cooler System.  It works just as the name implies:  cold air is continuously flowing into the enclosure, creating a constant purge flow…if that cold air is blowing out of any openings in the enclosure, there’s no way for environmental contamination to get in.  Problem solved.

Well…almost.  Something else I’m sure you already know is, compressed air is costly.  Organizations like the Compressed Air & Gas Institute (CAGI) and the Compressed Air Challenge (CAC), who are devoted to optimizing industrial use of compressed air, have lists of “inappropriate uses of compressed air”, and panel cooling is on that list…EXCEPT when they’re thermostatically controlled.  At EXAIR, we couldn’t agree more, and if a caller asks any of us Application Engineers about a Continuous Operation Cabinet Cooler System, they’re inviting us in to a conversation about that.

Sometimes, the initial question is cost…well, we have to pay for the components that make up the Thermostat Controls, so we ask our customers who want those products to as well.   A quick conversation about the operating cost of continuous operation vs thermostat control is usually all that’s required in those cases.

Other times, a panel that can’t be sealed is installed in a particularly dusty or dirty environment, and they want the continuous flow of cold air, as described above, to keep those contaminants out.  A Continuous Operation Cabinet Cooler System will, of course, do that.  But EXAIR wants you to get the most out of your compressed air use, so we developed a “best of both worlds” solution: Non-Hazardous Purge Cabinet Cooler Systems.  Here’s how they work:

  • Based on a few key pieces of data that you can submit in our Cabinet Cooler Systems Sizing Guide, we’ll specify the appropriate Cabinet Cooler System to manage that heat load.
  • The system will be thermostatically controlled: a bimetallic Thermostat, mounted inside the panel, will open and close the Solenoid Valve plumbed in the compressed air supply to operate the Cabinet Cooler as needed to maintain temperature inside the panel.
  • The Solenoid Valve is modified to pass a small amount of air flow (1 SCFM) even when it’s closed.  This saves you from using the full rated air consumption of the Cabinet Cooler when cold air isn’t required, and still maintains enough purge air flow to prevent environmental contaminants from entering a less-than-ideally-sealed enclosure.

Whatever you do, DON’T do THIS to your panel.

The Non-Hazardous Purge option is just one way that EXAIR Corporation can help you address specific environmental challenges that may be presented in electrical and electronic panel cooling applications.  If you’d like to find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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